* * *

A dull ache spread deep in my chest, as if my heart were being torn apart.

I hugged Eunsoo tightly and whispered softly.

“Eunsoo, I’m not someone you have to protect.”

Compared to Eunsoo, I was weak. Without an esper’s abilities, I couldn’t even stand up to monsters.

But that didn’t mean Eunsoo had to bear the burden of protecting me.

For me to live as myself, that wasn’t right.

“I made the decision to die that day. It was my choice. I only wanted to save that child, even if it cost my life. You don’t have to feel guilty for that.”

“I know. Elliot already scolded me about it, so I know. But… how could I not? If I hadn’t been hurt and you hadn’t gone in my place, or if I’d gone with you, none of this would have happened… How could I not blame myself?”

Eunsoo’s body trembled like a leaf.

And then I remembered.

That moment when I was captured and pinned by the monster—Eunsoo’s eyes, his expression as he ran toward me.

Though Eunsoo had matured since then, when faced with my death, he was the same.

No, he seemed even more fragile, like a child.

Tears full of pure emotion streamed down his face endlessly, as if he were a little boy again.

“I’m sorry too… I didn’t think about how you would feel, being left behind.”

“Hyung… You don’t have to apologize for anything. It’s all my fault for loving you, for being jealous… That’s why it happened…”

“You weren’t alone in that.”

“…”

“You weren’t, Eunsoo…”

That moment during ‘The Miracle of Early Summer’, when Eunsoo asked me to kiss him, I had felt an unsteady stirring within me.

“Maybe… I already knew back then.”

Perhaps, deep down, I had unconsciously realized it.

That as someone no longer bound by time, I couldn’t help but love Eunsoo.

That after a few years, I wouldn’t be able to live without him.

But back then, Eunsoo was still so young compared to me, and a few years wouldn’t bridge that gap.

Knowing that left me feeling disgusted with myself.

Maybe that’s why I rushed to save the child so recklessly—to avoid a future filled with such torment.

If pain was all that awaited me, wouldn’t it be better to save someone and die honorably?

“Maybe I really did fall for you at first sight.”

By the time I finished speaking, Eunsoo’s lips were already inches from mine.

Despite the endless tears, his eyes burned with an unquenchable desire as they locked onto me.

I gave my silent permission, closing my eyes to meet him halfway.

As our connection deepened, I realized why I hadn’t felt Eunsoo’s emotions during our past attempts at guidance.

He had locked them away.

But now, just the briefest touch of our tongues unleashed a torrent of emotions.

The sheer volume, the overwhelming purity—they rushed into me like a tidal wave.

These weren’t impurities in his feelings.

Eunsoo hadn’t exaggerated when he called me his everything.

At the core of every one of his emotions—joy, sorrow, anger, despair, happiness—was me.

Eunsoo laughed because of me, cried because of me, lived because of me.

Whether I was alive or dead, I was his world.

Even a duckling imprinting on its mother wasn’t this blind in its devotion.

What might seem like “impurities” were merely remnants of emotions directed at me.

And so, instead of requiring guidance, they melted into me naturally, as if they had always belonged there.

And selfishly, I was filled by those remnants.

Despite having everything, Eunsoo still needed someone like me.

And that made him so unbearably precious.

I wanted to give him everything, to fill the emptiness he felt without me.

I wanted him to consume me entirely.

“Mm, ah…!”

When I conveyed my resolve to Eunsoo, his arms, his legs, his large hands, his lips pressing against mine—they all restrained and overwhelmed me.

Eunsoo devoured me completely.

I couldn’t open my eyes, couldn’t even breathe.

The force crushing my limbs left me helpless, and though the pain was suffocating, I couldn’t push him away.

My mind went blank, my body trembling as I held on desperately, my core tightening, my hips shifting.

Just when I thought I might truly die, I gulped down the heated breaths he exhaled into my mouth, over and over, until finally, his hold on me loosened.

“Haa… Haa…”

He gasped for air, his breathing uneven.

Despite feeling as though his body had been crushed under the weight of Eunsoo, he was surprisingly unscathed.

However, he couldn’t move.

His blurred mind gradually cleared as he opened his eyes.

Eunsoo, who had just unleashed all his pent-up filth onto him, looked radiant and carefree, as though he had been liberated.

“Your tears… stopped.”

“Thanks to you.”

Lips wet with a mixture of their saliva and tears—or perhaps one or the other—brushed against his cheek.

While he closed his eyes to catch his breath, Eunsoo’s lips traveled across his face.

They pressed lightly on his forehead, the bridge of his nose, his cheekbones, his eyelids—landing and lifting again repeatedly.

Finally, they reached his ear.

“I love you, my…”

Eunsoo whispered his name in the voice of a young man deeply in love.

Not “Yang Heewoon,” but his name.

How much had Eunsoo glimpsed into him through the first stage of mucosal guiding?

‘Isn’t a name supposed to hold significant power over a spirit…?’

As he absentmindedly wondered, Eunsoo’s lips came closer.

A moment ago, they had been damp with tears and saliva, but now they were clean, red, and plump.

Eunsoo closed his eyes beautifully, his face glowing with expectation, like a blushing bride awaiting a kiss.

—Smooch.

Would it be ridiculous to say it felt like the vow kiss exchanged at a spiritual wedding?

Even if it seemed laughable, it was undoubtedly at this moment that he—not “Yang Heewoon”—became entirely Eunsoo’s.

---

Eunsoo, gazing quietly at Yang Heewoon’s sleeping face, couldn’t hold back and muttered again.

“Yang Heewoon.”

The words came with an odd sense of déjà vu.

It had been five days since Yang Heewoon returned to life.

By now, he had repeated this scene so often that he had lost count.

But how could he resist doing it again, even after so many times?

He was here, right in front of him—and today, even in his arms.

Yet he still found himself checking to see if it was really Yang Heewoon, if he was truly alive.

Warm body heat, soft skin, the faint sound of breathing.

He even brushed his nose against Heewoon’s cheek.

There was still a hint of alcohol, but it was unmistakably Yang Heewoon’s scent.

Eunsoo smiled faintly, his expression slackening.

“It really is Yang Heewoon.”

Now Yang Heewoon was here.

Not somewhere far away, but right in his arms.

The silly grin that spread across his face quickly disappeared.

His lips pressed tightly together as desire surged within him.

He wanted to touch Yang Heewoon, kiss him.

Though he already held him, he longed to embrace him tighter.

He wanted to talk to him, hear his voice, and see his smiling face.

As soon as he confirmed Yang Heewoon’s presence, an uncontrollable yearning boiled over.

To suppress it, he had to avert his eyes.

His hands, resting lightly around Heewoon’s waist, caressed him gently.

Although Heewoon’s condition had improved significantly since his recovery, he was still fragile.

If Eunsoo squeezed too hard, he feared Heewoon’s bones might break, or his veins might burst and swell from even the slightest pressure.

“Mm… Eunsoo…”

“Ah, I’m sorry! I won’t touch you. I’m sorry.”

“…Mm.”

Their exchange sounded like a conversation, but Yang Heewoon wasn’t truly awake.

Eunsoo watched as Heewoon slipped deeper into slumber and let out a small sigh.

When Heewoon called his name, his heart nearly stopped, but hearing his voice filled him with joy.

He couldn’t help but smile as he gazed at his face.

Eunsoo mentally overlaid the Yang Heewoon he had seen last night over his current, sleeping face.

The lips that had parted slightly, wet and glistening.

The flushed cheeks.

His labored breaths.

The glimmering, damp eyes.

The drowsy gaze melting into warmth.

His chest rising and falling as he struggled for air.

His shoulders shrinking ever so slightly in bashfulness.

The Yang Heewoon after they had shared breath was far more alluring than anything Eunsoo had imagined during the six years he had dreamed of this moment.

If he hadn’t spent time alone in the bathroom last night, burning with pent-up desire, he might have lost control and done something unforgivable.

‘It’s probably because I like you so much…’

That same Yang Heewoon had confessed to him.

That he liked him.

That he might have fallen for him at first sight.

He had spoken as if in a dream, pouring out such sweet words.

‘Eunsoo, you’ve misunderstood something.’

Eunsoo remembered those words.

* * *